What? A Baby?
by Adamante
Summary: Jack wasn't a very popular person, so he didn't have many friends in the Valley. But one day, he finds a baby on his doorstep. Little does he know that the baby will drastically change his life, but will it be for the better? Or the worse?
1. Baby

****

Hi! This is the story that most of you voted for, so I decided to write it. I hope you all enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, any of its characters, or anything else. Okay?**

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 1: Baby**_

--

Jack watered the last of his plants and sat down on the ground from exhaustion.

He wiped his brow. "I've been here for a year, and I still get tired after doing my work! I thought I would have gotten used to it by now!"

He made no effort to get back up, so he just sat there looking at the scenery.

Looking at the trees, you could tell that it was Fall. Fall was Jack's favorite season. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold. Just right in his opinion.

The trees' leaves were starting to change colors. Brown, yellow, orange, red—they all just gave you a warm feeling inside. The leaves littered the ground. Some people would just think it was messy and immediately rake it away, but Jack was different from other people. He ignored the leaves on the ground because he wanted to show everyone the beauty of Fall.

He slightly shivered. "It's starting to get cool. I'll go into the house and warm up." He stood up and walked off towards the house, while watching the leaves gracefully fall from the trees.

--

Things were always her responsibility. Why?

Why couldn't they entrust responsibilities to her sister? Oh yeah, because her 'dear' sister would rather poison someone than be 'responsible'.

She lazily looked through Jack's window. Watching the residents was a priority of hers—she had to make sure they didn't do anything wrong.

Jack was inside of his house sitting at the table eating dinner, which was a plate of curry.

She played with her braid. "He looks so lonely. Since I am a _goddess_ and all, I should do something for him."

"Maybe I should cast a spell to make someone fall in love with him. Then he can get married and not be so lonely anymore!" She exclaimed excitedly. She just gets so giddy when she's about to help people.

She begun to chant. "Blessing of love, blessing of love. Please bring this sad, lonely man—"

"A gift from above!" Yelled another voice.

The Goddess turned around to come face-to-face with her sister.

"What did you do?" She angrily yelled. "You ruined my spell!"

The Witch jumped off of her broom and replied in that icy voice of hers. "But dear sister, I helped, didn't I?"

The Goddess was still angry, and the Witch's nonchalant attitude was angering her even further. "How did you possibly help?!"

The Witch shrugged. "You said he was lonely, right? So he will be getting a new companion soon. ……Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well…… yeah, I guess." Goddess reluctantly agreed.

The Witch gave her a smirk and got back on her broom. "Well, I'm going back home, it's getting late. I feel sorry for you having to live in a pond in the cold weather." She smirked again.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." The Goddess replied. "Just get away from me already."

"Yes ma'am. As you wish." The Witch tilted her head down as if she was bowing, and then flew off into the sky.

Goddess rolled her eyes at the spot the Witch sat at moments ago, and then turned her attention back to Jack.

She smiled. "I hope the spell worked." She whispered to herself. "I want you to be happy." Then she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

--

Jack had just finished eating his curry when he heard a knock at the door. Was it Takakura? It couldn't be anyone else; he wasn't a very popular person in the Valley.

He walked to the door and slowly opened it—he didn't want the cold air to get into his house.

He peered out from the crack, but couldn't see anyone. Jack was about to close the door until he heard a small cry. Thinking it was his puppy, he looked down towards the ground. But what he saw was far different from a dog.

It was…… a baby?

**

* * *

****I hope you liked the first chapter. I have a lot of ideas for this, so please continue reading! Oh yeah, I wrote this while I was half asleep, so if it was bad then that's why.**

**Bye for now!**


	2. Starting Out

**Hey, it's me again. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it! The chapters are pretty short right now, but they'll get longer as the story goes on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.**

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 2: Starting Out**_

--

Jack looked at the baby with wide eyes.

"A… baby?" He looked around to see if anyone else was around – trying to see if they were the ones who put the baby there. But it was to no avail.

"Who would leave a baby here? And why would they give it to _me_ of all people?" He asked himself.

He looked down at the baby again to see how it looked. It was lying in a basket with a blanket wrapped around it, and it had brown hair with blue eyes.

A rush of cold wind came by and the baby started to cry. So, to prevent Takakura from coming out of his house and question him, Jack hurriedly picked up the basket and went into the house.

He closed the door and set the baby on his bed. "Where did you come from?"

The only reply Jack got was a cry.

He scratched his head. "Okay… let's try something different. What's your name?"

The baby cried even louder.

He raised his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! Please stop crying! I won't hurt you or anything!"

The baby suddenly stopped wailing and looked at Jack with curious eyes.

Jack sighed. "Phew. That's better."

The baby continued to look at Jack and then started laughing.

'_Huh? What is it laughing about?'_

But he didn't get an answer, because the baby just continued to laugh.

'_I feel like it's somehow mocking me…'_

* * *

Takakura walked out of the tool shed and heard laughing coming from the inside of Jack's house.

'_What is that boy doing? Does he have company or something?'_

Takakura slowly walked to Jack's door and put his ear up against it. _'The person who laughing a has a more… gentler, and childish voice. Is it a woman?' _Takakura never liked invading people's privacy, so he walked back to his house.

'_So he found a girl, huh? Maybe your son will turn this into a family farm. Your dream might just come true, my old friend…'_

Takakura looked up to the sky and smiled to himself. He then pushed his door open and walked inside to get some rest.

* * *

What was Jack going to do with this baby? Was he going to keep it? Or was he going to put it on someone's doorstep like some person just did to him?

Either way, it was going to be trouble.

After a while, the baby quieted down and went to sleep. Jack in a chair, staring at it. If he did keep it, would that be like adopting it? Would that mean he would have a child?

He shook his head. "Stop thinking that. You're not going to keep this baby. Just find someone who would want it and give it to them. Plus, I'm too young to have a child—I'm just 21!" Jack knew it was pretty strange to have a conversation with himself, but he didn't care right now. He was confused, _very _confused. No one else was here anyway.

His eyes started to droop. "I'll think more about this tomorrow. Right now, the only thing I need to think about is sleep…"

And with that, he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

She did good this time…… right?

The Witch Princess—as everyone calls her—was sitting in front of her large cauldron, thinking.

She helped that farmer…… didn't she?

So did that mean she was as great as the Harvest Goddess now?

…No. She was still the 'Witch Princess', the most vile person in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Just because she likes to pull a few harmless—or harmful—pranks, everyone just automatically hates her. But the Harvest Goddess, on the other hand, is a goody-goody and she has a pretty name, so everyone just automatically _loves_ her. Not like she cared…

…or did she?

She shook her head. "Whatever. I have better things to think about. Like how to create potions that will make my 'dear' sister so embarrassed!" She dumped her ingredients into the cauldron and mixed them. "What about a potion that will make her skin green, have warts, and make her have the most ugliest voice in the world?" She thought about it for a while, and then laughed at the idea. "Yeah, I should do that. Then she'll look like a _real_ witch."

The Witch eagerly mixed her concoction together and grinned. _This_ was going to be good.

* * *

Jack woke up to find the baby still sleeping in its basket.

'_That baby must be really tired.'_

Jack looked at his alarm clock and saw that it was six in the morning.

'_Maybe I should leave the baby on someone's doorstep. But who?'_

He crossed his arms and thought about the residents of the Valley.

'_Not Samantha, she can't even control Kate let alone taking care of a baby. Romana is too old and Lumina is too young. Maybe… Ruby? I did hear her say that she would love to have another child…'_

"It's settled then. I will give this baby to Ruby. She seems like a motherly type."

Jack slowly picked up the baby's basket and walked out of the door. He snuck by Takakura's house and walked down the path that went out of his farm.

He kept sneaking around to make sure no one would see him this early in the morning. And when he got to Ruby's door, he stopped in his tracks because of the voice he heard.

"What are you doing?" Someone asked in a cold voice.

He was scared to turn around and see who it was. Wait. Why was he scared? The voice was clearly female, so they wouldn't hurt him or anything... would they?

He slowly turned around to find...

* * *

**Hey. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it. Oh, and sorry about the cliffie, but I just love leaving you readers in the dark.**

**You probably think I'm a sadist, but I'm not. Or am I?**

…**We'll talk about that another time. See ya!**


	3. To Threat and To Plead

****

Hey. I'm back with the new chapter. I hope you all like it!

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 3: To Threat and To Plead**_

--

"What are you doing?" A cold, feminine voice asked.

The sound of her voice sent chills down his spine. Who in this Valley could sound as heartless and evil as that? Even _Nami_ wasn't like that.

He slowly turned around to find a woman with a purple and gray dress with a black cloak over it. She had fiery red eyes which were framed by blonde locks.

'_She's a beautiful woman, but why is she dressed like that?' _Jack thought to himself.

She had her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. "Hello? Are you going to answer me?"

Jack listened to the rhythm of her foot tapping and it took him a while to find out that she just said something to him.

"H-huh? What did you say?" He dumbly asked.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing with that baby? Don't make me ask again." She said in a stern voice.

That last statement frightened Jack a little. It seemed to him that if he didn't cooperate with her, then she would do something to him. She seemed like a 'no mercy' kind of girl.

"A-ah, I was… returning it… to the people who live here." He hastily replied while pointing to the Inner Inn.

The woman gave him an incredulous look. "Uh huh. Really now? If I recall, someone gave that baby to you."

Jack gave the woman a shocked look. "H-how… did _you _know that?"

She covered her mouth. "Darn. I didn't mean to let that slip out." She whispered to herself.

"Well? Are you going to explain?" Jack asked.

She took her hand off her mouth and slyly smiled at him. "Nope. But know this," In an instant, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a fierce glare. She walked closer to him and put her fist up to his face. "If you abandon that baby, I _swear_ I'll make you pay. You'll rue the day you defy me, the Witch Princess." She unclenched her fist and walked off. Leaving Jack to think to himself.

'_Witch Princess? What kind of game is she playing? How dare she threaten me? But, if I __**do**__ abandon the baby, she just might actually carry out that threat…'_

He decided that he didn't want to get on the girl's bad side, so he picked up the baby, and walked back to his farm.

Jack looked down to the baby in his arms and sighed.

"You're causing me a lot of trouble, you know that?"

The baby merely laughed at Jack's exasperated face.

* * *

The Witch Princess walked up the path to Lumina's mansion. Why she wasn't flying on her broom, was something even _she _didn't know.

She slowly walked on the cobblestone path and looked at the many trees that were looming over her.

She didn't care much for Fall; it just didn't appeal to her. She hated the colors that the trees would change into. Red, yellow, brown, and orange—she just thought that they were all atrocious. She preferred the colors pink and purple; no one knew that though.

Witch sighed. "I wonder if he's actually going to take care of that baby. I hope my threat set him straight." She then smiled because of her statement and continued to walk.

When she got to the gate, she walked over to the small shed that was next to the mansion. It was perfect for a temporary home. No one disturbed her, there was enough room for her items, and it was located in a place where you would least expect a witch. The only drawback was that she couldn't put her teddy bears in there, but other than that, it was perfect.

She slowly opened up her door and continued her potion.

"When I finish with this, it'll be a great prank to pull on the Harvest Goddess, and maybe some other people too!" She laughed while she stirred the purple concoction inside of her cauldron.

After a while, her thoughts went back to Jack.

"I wonder why I didn't do anything to that guy; I only threatened him. That's not like me." She said to herself. "I mean, I usually would have cast a spell on somebody, but this time… I just let him off easy."

She let go of her large spoon she used to mix the contents of the cauldron with, and thoughtfully tapped her chin.

'_What's so special about that guy for me not to harm him? I mean, if I – the Witch Princess – doesn't do anything to a mere mortal, then there must be something wrong with said "mortal". I'll watch over him. Just to make sure he doesn't do anything sneaky... and plus, I have a reputation to think about. I can't let the Harvest Goddess think I'm a softie; I'll never hear the end of it.'_

The Witch then smiled to herself and rubbed her hands together. "Yes… yes… That's what I'll do. I'll watch that guy from now on! I'll find out what he truly is; there's no way he's a mortal! No way!" She quietly laughed until the volume of her voice gradually increased. It didn't take long for her to go from 'quiet laugh' to 'evil cackle'.

Yes, the Witch Princess was a nutty one, alright.

* * *

Lumina slowly rose out of her bed and stretched her arms while yawning. She was always an early riser; meaning she woke up everyday at 7:00.

Even though she's a heavy sleeper and never hears any noise while she sleeps, she could've sworn she heard someone laughing maniacally earlier this morning.

'_It seemed to come from the old shed…'_

But her thoughts were interrupted by Romana calling her downstairs. So, Lumina hurriedly put on her usual greenish, plaid dress, and her dull shoes. She really needed to go shopping for new clothes.

After she brushed her hair a few times, she ran downstairs to see what her grandmother wanted. She didn't know why she fixed herself up before she came downstairs; maybe she wanted to look nice for _him_.

Lumina arrived at the bottom of the steps and eagerly looked around the room—she hoped that _he_ was here today.

Romana slowly walked up to her, holding on to her cane tightly. "Lumina, dear. What are you looking for?"

Lumina looked at her grandmother with a fake smile, which Romana didn't seem to notice. "Nothing, Auntie Romana. It's nothing." _'Except for the fact that he didn't come today. Other than that, I'm just **peachy**!' _

"Hmm…… very well, then. Time to begin your piano practice." Romana stated.

Lumina sighed. "Auntie Romana, please. Please let me take a break, just for today?"

Romana had a look of complete shock on her face. "T-that's blasphemy, Lumina! I can't let you take a break! You know how important this is!"

Lumina looked to the ground with a frown on her face. She spoke with a small, inaudible voice. "Yes, I'm fully aware of that. But even **I **need a break sometimes." Her voice grew louder until it became a yell. "I just want to go and hang out with my friends sometimes, Auntie! Don't you understand that?!"

Romana looked at Lumina in utter shock. (Again) "Lumina. You never spoke to me in that tone before……"

Before Lumina could say something else, Romana started to speak again.

"… Fine. I'll let you take a break. **Just** for today."

Lumina eyes widened and she looked at her grandmother with confused eyes. "Really, Auntie?"

Romana sighed and gave Lumina a glare. "Yes, dear. Now go before I change my mind!"

Lumina slightly jumped at her tone. "Y-yes, Auntie! T-thank you!" She then scurried out of the mansion.

Romana continued to glare at the door, but after a while, her eyes softened. "That child." She sighed. "I'm getting too old for this."

Meanwhile, Lumina happily ran along the cobblestone path, and admiringly looked at the trees.

She giggled. "Ah! I'm just so glad Auntie Romana let me take a break for once! She's really a kind person deep down!" Lumina stopped running, and discovered that she was in front of the Blue Bar.

'_I've never went in here before. I'll check it out. It can't possibly be __**that**__ bad.'_

Lumina slowly pushed the bar doors open and walked in.

**

* * *

****Ah, I'm gonna stop it right here. I'm tired and it's like 12:00 in the morning. Time to go to sleep.**

**Until next time!**


	4. Unexpected Discoveries

**Hello. Here is the fourth chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you for the reviews! Now on to the story!**

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 4: Unexpected Discoveries**_

--

Jack sat at his table, watching the baby sleep peacefully on his bed.

'_I guess I'm gonna have to keep it. But, I don't even know the baby's gender! How do I determine that?'_

He narrowed his eyes and inspected the baby's body—trying to find anything that could help determine its gender. That's when his eyes fell on the baby's diaper.

'_I could… take the diaper off… and see if it's a boy… or a girl…'_

Jack moved closer to the baby and slowly raised its diaper up enough to see inside. After he took a glimpse, he let go of the diaper and sat back at the table.

"Y-yeah… it's a girl…" A shallow laugh escaped from his lips. He then looked around his small little home and his gaze landed on the door.

"How am I gonna do my farm work? I can't leave the baby by herself—she might start crying and Takakura might hear… what do I do?" He asked himself.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "How am I gonna go about this?" Right after his question, a blinding light illuminated his whole house. To prevent from becoming blind, he shielded his eyes with his arm. After a while, the light disappeared. Jack looked at the baby to see if she was harmed in any way, but she was still sleeping peacefully on his bed.

"Tadaaaaa!" Jack flinched at how high the person's voice was. He then turned his head to find a woman standing at his door. Her skin was pale, but also radiant and glowing. She had on an aquamarine tube top and a long flowing skirt. Her hair was also a blue greenish color and it was tied up, except for the single braid that hung over her shoulder. The strangest thing about her other than her clothes was that she seemed to… sparkle, and she was…_floating_?

Jack's mouth hung open. "Ah……uh……ah…"

She covered her mouth and giggled. "I see that you are speechless because of my beauty, right?" He didn't reply to her.

She ignored his stunned expression and looked around his house. "What a nice little home you have here, but it's a little small though. Oh, who am I to judge peoples' homes—I live in a pond!" She giggled again and Jack registered what she said in his mind.

He stood up and finally spoke. Well, more like yelled. "You live in a pond?! How is that even remotely possible? Especially in this cold weather!"

The woman raised her hand up to his face, indicating him to stop. "It's alright. I'm the Harvest Goddess. I'm very different from mortals."

He turned his head. "You're another strange person…"He said quietly enough for the Goddess not to hear.

The Goddess's gaze landed on the baby girl lying on Jack's bed. She scowled at her for a minute, but quickly replaced it with a gentle smile. "Hey."

"Yes?" He asked.

The Goddess pointed to the bed. "I see you have a baby."

Jack sighed and rubbed his temples. "Please. Don't start this again."

The Goddess looked at him quizzically. "Huh? Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, this morning a weird and angry woman told me to keep the baby or she was going to hurt me. She had strange clothes on too…"

She gasped. "Did the woman have blonde hair and red eyes?"

He glanced at the Goddess incredulously and turned his head away from her. "Yeah, I think so."

'_Oooh! That Witch Princess! I'm going to talk to her later.' _"Don't worry about her. She won't do anything—I'll make sure of it."

Jack looked at the baby and refused to look in the Goddess's direction. "Well, what are you doing here? What do you want from me?" He sounded like he was irritated—like he was tired of everything that was going on around him. The baby, the Witch, the Goddess—everything.

She was not affected by his tone of voice or the strange looks he gave her. Actually, she was quite amused with it. "I came to help you out, it is my job after all."

He glared at her. "You want to help? I know how you can help. Help by taking this baby and give it to someone who can _actually_ take care of it!" He yelled.

The Goddess was taken aback by his behavior. No one acted like that around her! People usually worshipped her like she was their divine god. Which in reality, she was.

"I… I can't do that Jack." She finally replied.

"And why not? You are _God_, right? So why can't you do such a simple task?!" He was truly angry. Has he been hiding his true feelings for a long time? What made him this angry? It sure as hell wasn't the whole baby situation—it was something bigger than that.

"Jack… this baby was blessed to you. You should be honored that someone thought you were capable of taking care of their baby. Taking care of a baby is a great responsibility and someone thought that you were capable. You must be a wonderful person for someone to bestow this responsibility on you…… or the person just has bad judgment in character and gave it to the wrong person. But, I really think it's the former." The Goddess sternly explained. Now wasn't the time for games and fun. This was serious.

His expression softened and he looked at her with wide, apologetic eyes. "Y-you're right… I don't know what got into me. I'm…… sorry for the way I behaved, Goddess."

She giggled. "It's alright. I'm sure you had a good reason to get angry like that."

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But, if it's okay with you, I would rather not talk about that reason."

"Understood."

He smiled. "Thank you…… Oh! I have to do my farm work! What do I do about the baby?"

"I'll take care of it. You just go." The Goddess told him.

"Thank you!" He ran out of the house to start his daily work.

The Goddess watched after him.

'_What a strange mortal, he's very different from the others, but…… he's also very interesting too.'_

* * *

Lumina slowly opened the door to the bar to be hit with a sweet smell of fruit as soon as she entered. There were also other smells along with that. The smell of soot, cologne, and vegetables clouded her nostrils, and it _wasn't_ pleasant.

She walked over to a stool and sat down. She put her arms on the counter and watched as Griffin made drinks that the other customers supposedly ordered.

Lumina didn't really know Griffin that well—she just knew that he owned the Blue Bar and was good at playing the guitar. After he finished the drinks, he walked over to her.

He gave her a questioning look. "Hey, Lumina. I don't see you around here much."

Griffin's tough and rugged look intimidated her. "O-oh. Well, I never really got the chance to visit before, so I decided to come now, since I have time."

He carelessly shrugged. "Okay then." He handed her a menu. "What do you want to order?"

She scanned the menu and saw the name 'Blue Moon' written in beautiful gold letters. "I'll take the Blue Moo—"

"I'd advise you not to order that." A man said. She knew that voice anywhere.

She turned to the man in question. Only to come face-to-face with the person she least wanted to see. "Rock?! What are you doing here?" She yelled.

He chuckled. "I always come here Lumi. The question is, why are _you_ here?"

She turned her head away from him. "I just wanted to see how it's like in here is all! And why did you stop me from ordering that drink?"

Rock grinned. "It was to annoy you."

"W-wha? Rock, you—"

He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Don't go crazy now, Lumi. I was just kidding."

Her face softened. "Oh. Well, why _did_ you stop me? And tell the truth this time."

He opened one of his eyes and looked at her. "If 5 mugs of that drink made Karen pass out, then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to take a sip of the stuff."

Lumina gave him an incredulous look. "5 drinks could make anyone pass out."

He shook his head. "Oh, how naïve you are Lumi. Karen takes at least 20 drinks before she passes out. The Blue Moon was too strong, so I guess even _Karen_ couldn't take it. And let's face it Lumi, you're so sweet and pure. I wouldn't be surprised if you got drunk off of water."

Lumina huffed and crossed her arms. "Why are you making fun of me? I bet I could drink that stuff!"

Rock suddenly got a concerned look on his face. "Wait, Lumi. I don't think—"

"Griffin! I would like to order 5 Blue Moons please!" She yelled to the bartender.

Rock looked on in horror as he watched Griffin begin to make the drinks with no hesitation.

Oh, this was going to be hell alright.

**

* * *

**

So, I made the baby a girl. I'm having trouble thinking of a name though. Maybe you guys could make some suggestions?

**I guess I'll stop it here. School's tomorrow for me and I need my rest. Expect the next chapter to be updated next weekend!**

**Well, see ya next weekend!**


	5. Surprises

**Okay. I know it's been about two weekends since I last updated, but bear with me here! I've been real busy! So, I hope this chapter makes up for it!**

**Well, enjoy!**

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 5: Surprises**_

--

Lumina gulped down her sixth Blue Moon, with no signs of being drunk. She had no tinge of red on her cheeks, no sluggish movement, not even a slurred tone of voice. She was the same as she was before she came in.

Rock gaped at her in utter shock. Not even Karen could take five Blue Moons, so how could this girl have _six_ without getting drunk, or rather, passing out?

Lumina turned to Rock and rolled her eyes. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

He was so shocked, he couldn't find the words. So he shakily pointed to the six empty glasses and then to Lumina. "Y-you…"

Lumina's eyes slightly widened, as if she knew what he was trying to say. "Oh… you're shocked because I drunk all of that?"

He slowly nodded. "Uh huh."

Lumina held her hand over her mouth and giggled. "It's not a big deal. I don't think that drink even has alcohol in it."

Rock shook his head and finally gathered the strength to talk. "No, Lumi. You don't understand. Karen couldn't even drink that many, so that means… you're better than her. Anyone better than Karen is truly not human." He explained.

Lumina rolled her eyes once again. "Oh, please Rock. You're over exaggerating. 'Not human'? Don't make me laugh."

Rock seemed to ignore Lumina's statement and think to himself. Then, he grinned. "You know, there is something good about this."

"And what would that be?" Lumina asked.

"It means that you can hold your liquor, and I love women who can hold their liquor." He raised his eyebrows and seductively looked at Lumina.

Lumina got off of her stool and set money on the counter. "Griffin, here's the money for my drinks. Thank you for serving me." Griffin replied with a 'you're welcome' and gratefully took the money. Lumina's smile faded away when she looked at Rock. "And _you_ Rock, are a perverted womanizer who doesn't deserve anyone. I am tired of you flirting with me and implying things! Don't you see I don't like you that way?"

Rock didn't seem fazed by Lumina's possible hatred for him. All he did was nonchalantly glance at her. "Oh? And who _do_ you like that way?" A teasing tone to his voice.

Her face turned pink. "N-none of your business, alright?" She walked to the door and left out.

Rock smiled to himself. "Looks like little Lumi has a crush on someone. It's obviously me!" He laughed and Griffin ignored him. Muffy walked out from the back room and rolled her eyes at Rock.

"I heard the whole thing Rock, and I can tell Lumina likes someone. It's not you, though." Muffy stated.

Rock angrily turned to her. "What makes you think that?"

Muffy smirked. "Oh, dear Rock. I _know _these things."

He turned away from her and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

Muffy just laughed while Rock pouted and sulked in his seat.

Meanwhile, Lumina was walking along the cobblestone path, face still pink. "I can't believe that guy. Insisting that I like someone. That's preposterous! Hmph!" She continued to walk until she got to Jack's farm.

She looked up the path that led to the farm. _'Oh, it's his farm. I never got the chance to really visit before. Well, since I have time, I guess I could visit.'_

She slowly walked up the path to see that Jack was tilling his field. She continued to stare at him. She saw how strong his arms looked, how disheveled his hair was, how sweat droplets adorned his young face—in other words, he was hot. Lumina felt the urge to run over there and tell him that, but that would just be uncivilized and he would probably be freaked out.

She continued to stand there and stare at him until he looked up and noticed her.

"Oh, hey Lumina. Why are you standing there? Do you need something?" He asked.

She shook her head and blushed. "N-no…" _'Oh! Stupid! Stupid! I hope he doesn't think I was staring at him! Stupid Lumina! Stupid!'_

Jack saw the conflicted look on her face and walked closer to her, concern evident in his expression. "Are you sure you don't need anything? You have a strange look on your face."

Lumina snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "No! No! Nothing's wrong! I just…… wanted to visit you, that's all!" She covered her mouth. "No, I didn't mean to say tha-"

"Oh? You wanted to visit? Well… thanks!" He smiled. _'Oh man! I hope she doesn't ask to go in the house! The baby is in there!'_

Lumina wondered why she acted weird around this man. He was just a farmer. He was just a… guy. A very hot guy. So... why does she stumble on her words and gets embarrassed whenever she sees him?

"Um… do you want to… go to the pond?" Lumina hesitantly asked. She fiddled with her dress and Jack shallowly laughed.

"I would love to Lumina, but… I have things to take care of. I promise I'll go another time." He dryly smiled. He didn't want to hurt Lumina's feelings, but he didn't want to leave the baby either.

She looked downcast. Lumina lowered her head to the ground, averting Jack's gaze. "Oh… okay then. But…I need to borrow your bathroom… for a while." She ran off towards the house and Jack called out to her, but she didn't listen.

'_Stupid! Why did you ask him that!? He's obviously busy! Ugh… now I'm gonna sit in the bathroom yelling or crying at myself. Just great.' _She thought.

She pushed Jack's door open and was met with a strange look from the Goddess, whom was floating in midair, and the small baby on his bed.

Lumina's face turned a deep red from embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't m-mean to i-i-intrude!" She slammed the door and ran out of the farm.

Jack stood back watching regretfully. He sighed. "I guess… she found my secret, huh." The Goddess went over to him and merely nodded.

Meanwhile, Lumina was still running. Her face was red and she was panting. As soon as there was some distance between her and the farm, she finally stopped running and caught her breath. "H-he has a… b-baby?" She said to herself.

"Who has a baby?" Someone asked.

Lumina turned to see Chris standing behind her, confusion written all over her face. "Well, uh…" She started.

Chris urged her to continue. "Yes..?"

Lumina felt that she shouldn't tell Chris about Jack's supposed baby. His image would be ruined if she found out. Because… Chris **was** known to gossip about the residents.

Lumina waved her arms and smiled. "It's nothing! I was talking about a… soap opera! The guy on the soap opera has a… baby!"

Chris leered at Lumina—as if she was trying to see through her lie. Lumina stared back at her and they stood like that for a while.

Chris's face softened. "Oh really? It sounds interesting. I'll have to see it for myself."

Lumina dryly laughed. "Yeah, you do that…"

"Okay then, Lumina. I'll see you another time." Chris smiled and waved. She then retreated back into her house. But as she was leaving she thought, _'I know you're hiding something Lumina, and I'll find out what it is!' _Chris smiled to herself and continued to walk inside of the house.

Lumina sighed and continued to walk back to the mansion. She was done with exploring today.

'_Why was there a baby in his house? And who was that floating woman? Could she be… the baby's mother? That would mean… he had a __**baby**__ with her? No… no it couldn't be… but… how do you explain it..?' _Lumina thought as she walked along the cobblestone path that led to her mansion.

The Witch watched Lumina as she passed the fountain and sadly walked inside of the mansion.

Witch grinned to herself. "Oh. **This** is getting good. Maybe I should… spice things up?" She quietly chuckled and walked back inside her shack. She wasn't going to be left out of the fun.

She was going to make **sure** of that.

**

* * *

****Short chapter, I know. But hey, I hope you liked it nonetheless.**

**Looks like the Witch is planning something… and I assure you, it's going to be kind of evil. **

**But anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and the next ones to come! See ya later!**


	6. The Start of Something

**Hey, I know it's been a while, but like I always say, "I'm busy". So, yeah... well, enjoy the story!**

* * *

**_What? A Baby?_**

**_Chapter 6: The Start of Something_**

**_--_**

The Witch flew on her broom through the night sky-- enjoying the breeze that was tousling her hair. She looked up at the moon, enjoying it's calm presence. That was one thing she liked about the nightime--the moon. It would always calm her when she looked at it. It would also free her of her worries and lead her to believe that not all things were bad and hopeless on this planet called Earth.

She sighed. Snapping out of her thoughts. _'But I know that's not true. There are still many problems that exist on this planet, and it's all because of those mortals.' _She grimaced at her thoughts and continued to fly through the sky. Until she was stopped by the person she least wanted to see.

Her sister and mortal enemy, the Harvest Goddess.

The Goddess stood firmly in front of the Witch's door, unmoving. When the Witch saw this and got off of her broom, she landed softly on the ground and slowly walked over to the Goddess, a glare on her face.

"What are you doing here?" The Witch simply asked. She didn't want to raise her voice and start any arguments because frankly, she was too tired to do that, and it might attract attention from the other residents of the mansion.

The Goddess huffed. "I need to talk to you."

Witch rolled her eyes. "Well, can you wait until tomorrow? I really need some sleep, and when I'm tired, I get crankier than I usually am. And you **really** don't want to see that."

Now it was the Goddess's turn to roll her eyes. "Oh, please. I've seen worse in my lifetime."

"Well, whatever. Just go away right now, okay?" After saying that, the Witch pushed past her stunned sister and walked into the hut. When she gt in there, she sat on the bed and took off her boots. She then put her whole body completely on the bed and rested her head in the pillow. Her eyes started to droop.

_'Now I can get some rest--'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a banging sound and the Goddess's annoying sweet voice. "Tadaaaa!"

She burst through the front door and flew over to Witch, smiling all the while. Did she not know how much of a commotion she was making?!

The Witch furiously sat up in her bed. "**What**, in the world are you **doing**?!"

The Goddess merely giggled at the look on her furious sister's face. "Well, I'm waking you up, of course."

"WHY?!" She yelled.

The Goddess smile disappeared and was replaced with a glare. "Because you left when I told you I had to talk to you."

Witch sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, okay. I'll listen to what you have to say. As long as you leave me alone after this, alright?"

Goddess nodded. "Gladly."

"Okay, go on."

"Well, I talked to Jack yesterday." The Goddess started.

The Witch shrugged. "Yeah? What about him?"

"He told me that you threatened him if he didn't take care of the baby." She finished.

The Witch chuckled. "Oh, so let me get this straight. You're mad because I roughened up that guy a little?"

The Goddess nodded. "Well, yeah! And plus, why would you care if he took care of a baby or not? I bet you would prefer if neglected it or something." Goddess half-jokingly stated.

"Well, in normal circumstances I would **love** it if he neglected a baby, don't get me wrong." The Goddess gaped at her statement, but the Witch paid her no mind and continued. "But these circumstances clearly aren't 'normal'."

She gave the Witch a puzzled look. "What do you mean by 'not normal'?"

"Well, I summoned that baby."

"You **what**?!" The Goddess yelled.

"I. Summoned. The. Baby." She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't any clearer than that. Geez, you must be really slow."

The Goddess was about to retort because of that 'slow' comment, but she reluctantly let it slide. She had to find out what exactly the Witch was up to. "I..." She started. "I thought that someone left that baby for him to take care of... not that it was another one of your spells!"

The Witch scoffed. "What did you think the 'gift from above' (Refer to Chapter 1) spell was?"

"I thought that you were going to send an angel here to make him happy or something of that sort..." The Goddess blushed out of embarrassment, and the Witch laughed.

"Oh, Goddie. You are as naive as ever. An 'angel'? What do you think I am, cupid or something?" The Goddess cringed at the nickname 'Goddie' and decided to do the same.

Goddess smirked. "Well, **Witchy**. I see you're as heartless as ever." The Witch scowled at her nickname 'Witchy', and shrugged it off. Albeit reluctantly.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, I summoned that baby from another planet." The Witch continued. "As if I would summon a mortal baby. I hate mortals!" She laughed.

The Goddess eyebrows furrowed and she pursed her lips, a stern expression was on her face. "If I may ask, what planet did you summon it from?"

She nonchalantly glanced at the Goddess. "Oh, that? I think it was from that planet really far away, deep in the galaxy..."

The Goddess's eyes widened, her skin turned pale, and she suddenly became lifeless and.... frightened? "No, no... it can't be..." She murmured.

The Witch got worried. If the Goddess's personality did a whole 180 turn, then there must be something wrong. "Are you okay...?" She slowly asked.

The Goddess collapsed on the Witch's bed, tears in her eyes. "No... it can't be..!" She got up and searched around the hut. Throwing books around, breaking glasses, and destroying potions. The Witch ran over to her, completely oblivious to what's going on, but furious nonetheless.

"What are you doing to my stuff?!" She yelled.

The Goddess didn't hear her, she just kept frantically looking around her home, messing up or destroying everything in her path. Well now, it looked like she was destroying the Witch's things on **purpose, **and she didn't like that one bit.

"Why are you doing this? Get out! Now!" She yelled once again. This time, the Goddess turned to her with a face full of sadness and hate.

"I have to find a way. You did this to Jack, so I have to find a way to fix it! If I don't something soon, then the other villagers will be in danger too!" She yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I **do** know that you need to get out!" The Witch yelled back twice as loud, pointing to the door as she did so.

The Goddess huffed. "Fine! I'll leave, but I swear that you'll pay for this. I can't... I can't believe you would do something as cruel as **this!**" She disappeared in a puff of smoke and left the Witch standing all by her lonesome, surrounded by broken glasses, damaged books, and spilled potions.

She clenched her fists. She worked hard to achieve all of this. She worked hard to make those potions-- to find those rare books. But now... it was just ruined. To have all of her hard work easily destroyed like that... it really hurt her.

She scowled. "That Goddess.... how dare she do this!" She squeezed her fists tighter until her knuckles turned white. "I'll have my revenge... on her... and those stupid mortals too..."

There was no turning back now. Not for the Witch, the Goddess, Jack, nor any of the villagers. This was the start of something. Whether it was something good, or something bad, no one knew.

* * *

Lumina paced around in her room. She pondered over the baby and floating woman that she found in Jack's house yesterday. She came up with many conclusions but refused to believe any of them. That couldn't be Jack's baby... it just **couldn't! **She must be going crazy.

And to further the fact that she was crazy, she could've sworn she faintly heard two women arguing and breaking stuff. But that would be impossible because Romana and Sebastian could never do something like that, and plus, Sebastian is not a woman.

Lumina sighed. Things were just getting too complicated, and frankly, she just wants to forget everything that has happened. But she knew that deep down in her heart, that it would be impossible to forget everything. Memories always stay with you.

"Lumina! Time for your piano lesson!" Romana called from downstairs. Lumina sighed again. Couldn't she just take a break for like, a week? Was that just too much to ask? Lumina got ready to leave the room and go downstairs until she heard something knocking on her window. She quickly turned to the window and saw Rock, grinning big and waving at her. She ran over and opened it, letting Rock come inside and out of the cold air.

He rubbed his hand together, trying to warm himself. "Thanks Lumi." He breathed. "I was gonna freeze out there!" Lumina put her finger to her mouth and shushed him.

"Not so loud!" She whispered. "Auntie Romana might hear you, now what are you doing here?"

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, nervously laughing. "Yeah... sorry about that. I came here to help."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Help? Help with what?"

"To get you out of this hellhole, of course! Old Romana's working you to the bone on that piano. I can't take seeing that pained expression you have every time she tells you to play it, so I came to bust ya out of here!" He grinned and Lumina sighed. Rock was probably trying to impress her or something.

She rubbed her temples, feeling a migrain coming on. "Rock..." She sighed. "I don't--" She was interrupted by Rock picking her up bridal style and walking over to the window.

"Lumi, if you won't come with me, then I'll have to force you, and oh yeah... make sure you **don't **scream, alright?" He said with that trademark grin of his.

"Rock? What are you--" Lumina was once again interrupted when Rock dropped her out of a two-story window. She fell, feeling the cold air rush over her body, she felt like she was going to freeze to death, not if the fall killed her first. She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping for someone to hear her and catch her. But they didn't. She just continued to fall until she landed on something and bounced up in the air. She continued to bounce until she looked down beneath her and saw that she landed on a trampoline.

Rock climbed down the ladder he used to get up to Lumina's window and grinned at her. "I found it in a spare room at the Inn. It was all folded up and stuff. My parents said that they found it on their travels and said it was called a 'trampoline'." Rock explained. "Pretty fun, huh?"

Lumina continued to to bounce, unable to get off. She feared that if she did, then she would hit herself on the hard, cold ground and injured, so she huffed and glared at Rock. "Yeah. Now can you get me off of this thing?!"

He just merely smiled and helped her off of the 'death trampoline' as she dubbed it. After they were done with that, Rock folded up the trampoline and started to walk away with Lumina close behind him.

He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Hey, Lumi. I thought you weren't coming with me."

"Well, you threw me out of a window, made too much noise in my room, and caused me to scream at the top of my lungs which Auntie Romana undoubtedly heard. I can't go back home, so I guess I'm sticking with you. For now." She crossed her arms and gave Rock a glare that clearly said that she 'didn't want to hear any of his comments'.

He got the message and merely chuckled. "Fine with me."

They both continued on their way along the cobblestone path, heading for Goddess knows where.

* * *

Jack sat in his one bedroom house, looking at the baby. She was giggling and looked like she enjoyed herself. He smiled. Knowing that someone **actually **enjoyed themself in his presence was very heartwarming.

"I should name you..." He said.

He thought for a moment and came up with a name he thought fit her well.

Hope.

He chose that name because many things had happened in his life, and he couldn't help but feel that many things would happen in the future as well, so he thought that this child could give him the hope and happiness that he needed, were anything to happen.

He smiled at the baby. "I'll name you Hope!" He exclaimed. She replied with a giggle and it made him happy. Maybe taking care of a baby wasn't so bad after all.

But there were still things he needed. He needed someone to help him take care of little Hope. That made him think about the possibility of getting married, but that would be impossible. None of the Valley girls thought of him like that. He also needed things like diapers, bottles, and the like. He could ask Ruby, Chris, and Samantha about those things, since they are mothers and all.

But if he did that, then his secret would be let out that he had a baby, but it didn't really matter to him anymore. People would find out eventually, and plus, Lumina already found out. But how was he going to ask them if he couldn't leave the baby by herself? There was only one way he could do it.

He needed to get a babysitter.

But who could he get to babysit?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He got up to answer it while thinking, _'Here's the answer to my question.'_

He opened the door to find Celia standing there, all bundled up in her green coat and smiling. She held a basket full of various vegetables from her farm. "Hello, Jack! I was wondering if you'd like some of our vegetables." She said with a smile.

He stared at her. She was truly a beautiful girl. He never... he never really noticed that before. But now that he was actually **talking** to her up close, he got... embarrassed. A small blush was evident on his cheeks, but Celia thought it was the cold weather that was turning his cheeks pink. "U-uh... yeah! Of course!" Jack stammered.

She giggled. "Alright then! I'm glad you accept the gift!"

His blush went down, but his cheeks were still a small tinge of pink--probably because of the weather. "Uh... If I may ask, who is this gift from?" The gift could be from Vesta or even Marlin. He doubt it was Celia.

"Oh, this? It was from me! I thought you could you use some because winter is coming up and you might not have much food to eat." She explained.

Jack smiled and gratefully took the vegetables. "Really? Thank you! This really helps out!" Jack walked into his house and sat the basket on his small table. He then walked back to the door where Celia was standing. "Do you want to come in? It's pretty chilly out here." He asked her.

She slightly nodded. "Sure, thank you!" She walked in and was met with the sight of a small baby lying on Jack's bed. The baby was peering at her curiously and Celia was doing the same. That was when she came to one conclusion.

That must be Jack's little sibling.

Jack walked up behind her and saw the staring contest occuring between Celia and Hope. He sighed and tapped Celia on the shoulder. "Uh, Celia?"

She turned to him swiftly. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

She covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh. I was just looking at your cute little sibling!"

So that was why she didn't react the same way Lumina did. She thought that Hope was his little sister.

"Uh, Celia? That's not my sibling. That's my baby." Jack deadpanned.

Celia looked at him with confused eyes. "How do you have a baby when you're not married? Did you adopt it?" She asked.

"Yeah... something like that..."

She walked over to the bed and picked up Hope. "It's so cute!" She happily exclaimed.

"Wait!" Jack yelled and Celia looked over to him. "Don't pick her up so casually! She might cry!"

Celia directed her attention back to Hope and saw that she was happily giggling. "She's not crying! She's laughing!" Celia walked over to Jack, she was still holding Hope. "What's her name?"

He scratched his head. "It's Hope."

Celia giggled in glee and snuggled Hope. "Oh, Hope! You're so cute! I bet your father will take care of you!" Jack smiled at the two. Celia must really like Hope. That makes her the perfect candidate for 'babysitter'.

"Celia?" Jack asked.

She turned to him, smiling as always. "Yes?"

"Would you... like to look after Hope while I go do something?"

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, she then smiled a smile so big, her eyes were closed. "Of course I would, Jack."

He put on his coat and started to walk out of the door. "Well, alright then. Just watch her till I get back!" He yelled on his way out.

Celia watched the door as it closed. And smiled to herself. Jack wasn't so bad after all.

Maybe they could become good friends.

* * *

**This chapter was pretty long, wasn't it? Well, I had fun writing it.**

**So, now it's time for questions that you will definitely ponder over!**

**Why is the Goddess so upset? What did the Witch do to Jack to put him and the other residents in danger?**

**Will Celia and Jack become friends? What will happen to Lumina?**

**And finally, how will the Witch get her revenge on everyone?**

**Those are the questions you should be thinking about. Now, bye bye! See you later! (Or the next time I update the chapter!) :)**


	7. First Stages of Love and Plans

**Hey guys. I'm back with the 7th chapter. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

**_What? A Baby?_**

**_Chapter 7: First Stages of Love and Plans_**

**_--_**

Rock and Lumina walked along the cobblestone path heading for an unknown place. Well, unknown to Lumina at least. Rock was dragging her _somewhere_and she didn't like it one bit. Plus the fact that she was freezing because Rock dropped her out of a window and didn't give her a chance to get her coat. She hugged herself and shivered as a gust of wind came by. Rock saw this and gave Lumina a slightly worried look.

"Hey, Lumi. Are you cold?" He asked.

She was shocked at the fact that Rock was actually worried about her, but she shook off the feeling and glared at him--she was still mad about the window incident, of course. "Yeah. I am. What kind of dumb question is that?"

He scratched his head. "Sorry. I was just worried. That's all." He flashed a cocky grin at her. "You know I love you, Lumi."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. She thought he was really worried about her, but his egotistical and conceited personality came back all in one second.

_'Wait. Why do I care if he worries about me or not? It's just stupid old Rock.' _She bitterly thought.

Lumina fiercely shook her head. She had to stop thinking about these things--it made her head hurt. Rock chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Lumi." He laughed. "I'll take care of you. I'll keep you warm."

Lumina huffed and rolled her eyes, but she didn't protest, though. She greatly needed the warmth he was providing.

Rock smiled and went deep in thought. He thought about all the things he told Lumina, like 'I love you' or 'I'll keep you safe' and 'I hate seeing you get hurt'. There was no doubt that she thought that those were his lame pick-up lines. They _were_lame, but they weren't any farther from the truth.

The truth was... that he was actually in love with Lumina and would hate to see anything happen to her. He always expresses his true feelings to her, but he does it in such a playful and immature way that she thinks that he's either flirting or joking. To tell the truth, he didn't like that she thought of him that way. But, he came to the conclusion that it was better for her to think of him like that. As long as he sees her face, as they remain on speaking terms--heck, as long as she's _near _him, then he's happy.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lumina's voice. He suddenly hit his head on something hard and fell to the ground, landing on his back. Lumina loomed over him, no expression on her face. "Are you okay, idiot?"

"Ugh." He grunted. Even in situations like this Lumina still mocked him. He sat up and rubbed his head. "What exactly.... just happened, Lumi?"

She rolled her eyes. "You were dazed and wasn't paying attention to where you were going. Then I tried to warn you that you were about to bump into a lightpost, but I was too late and you hit your head instead." She shrugged. "I guess you were thinking about something to make you get dazed like that. Because let's face it, you _never _get spacey--you never even _think _for that matter!" She laughed and held her hand out to Rock, to help him up.

Once he was up on his feet again, he took off his coat and handed it to Lumina. She eyed the coat curiously. "Why'd you give this to me?"

He shrugged. "I caused you to forget your coat, right? You look cold, so I gave you mine. It's the least I could do."

She reluctantly took it. "Uh... thank you...?"

Rock flashed her a grin. "No problem!" He continued to walk and Lumina curiously watched after him, wondering where he was going. They passed by the Blue Bar, so he wasn't going there. He just walked by the Inner Inn, so he wasn't going there either. So... where was he going?

Lumina shook her head and saw that he was already far ahead of her. She ran up to him and asked, "Where are you going?"

He looked down at her. "Oh? I'm visiting the farmer guy. He seems really cool, so I wanted to become friends with him. I thought you would like to come too, so I brought you along."

She nervously smiled at Rock. "Oh...really? Well, thanks...." Her face turned red at the thought of visiting Jack again. Her last visit wasn't very... pleasant.

Rock and Lumina arrived at the entrance of Jack's farm and walked up the path that led them inside. Lumina saw Rock slightly shiver in the corner of her eye and suddenly felt bad that she was wearing his coat while he had to freeze.

_'Wait. Why do I feel sorry for him? It's that idiot's fault that I forgot **my **coat, and **I** had to freeze for a while! But... he **did** give me his coat, and I have to say, that was pretty chivalrous--even for Rock.' _She shook her head, dismissing her thoughts. All of a sudden, she felt an arm loop around her shoulders. She turned her head to see that it was Rock who had his arm around her shoulders. She was about to punch him, but he merely grinned at her.

"I'm cold, Lumi. So don't hit me or anything. I just wanted to share some of your warmth." He laughed.

Lumina huffed and turned her head, face a slight shade of pink. "Hmm... well... just don't do anything that **you'll** regret, alright?"

He chucked again. He felt elated that he was able to even be this close to Lumina without her hitting him. "Alright."

They passed by Takakura's cabin and arrived at Jack's front door. Rock knocked and there was no answer.

Rock confusedly looked at the door. "Hmmm...? I wonder where he is..." He muttered. She then knocked on the door again, but this time, she heard a muffled voice that told them to wait a second.

Lumina inwardly sighed. She knew that Jack wasn't home and the person inside the house was probably the woman she saw from the other day. His supposed 'baby's mother'.

The doorknob started to move and Lumina's heartbeat became rapid. Rock's arm was still around her, so she hoped that he didn't notice her abnormal heartbeat, or her red face. To tell the truth, she hoped that Jack was the one who would open the door. She hoped that the woman she saw wasn't real, and she hoped that he would tell her that he had feelings for her all along, but... that's just another one of her faraway dreams that she knew wouldn't come true. Just like her dream for her deceased parents to still be alive.

The door slowly opened to reveal a woman in a simple green dress with an orange bandana. She greeted Rock and Lumina with a smile before saying, "Hello!"

Lumina remembered that she was the girl who lived at the farm across the bridge, Celia. But Lumina was confused as to why Celia was here, at Jack's house. She could've sworn she saw another woman here the other day.

"H-hello." Lumina slowly replied.

Rock took his arm off of Lumina and smiled at Celia. "Hey! Pretty lady!"

Celia giggled at Rock's statement while Lumina glared. Could he be anymore **rude**?!

A cold breeze rushed past and it caused everyone to shiver. Celia ushered Lumina and Rock into the house. She didn't want them to stay in the cold.

After closing the door, Celia told Lumina and Rock that they could sit down at the table. Rock looked over to the baby on the bed and gasped in shock. He then turned to Celia. "Don't tell me....! You... and the farmer..? Did he ba--" He was interrupted by Lumina hitting him on the head.

Lumina blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry for showing you that violent side of me, but Rock is just--"

Celia smiled. "It's okay. I feel like hitting my friend Marlin once in a while too, so you're not the only one. You know how boys are."

Lumina's blush faded and she laughed. "Yeah! I totally know how you feel! Rock really gets on my nerves sometimes, you know?" Celia nodded. She then took a seat next to Lumina at the table and they started to chat while Rock miserably sat on the other side of the table muttering about women.

Lumina laughed at one of the statements Celia just made and asked, "So, what are you doing here? You know, at Jack's house?" She then realized what she just said and covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have asked something personal like that!" She yelped.

Celia shook her head. "It's okay. I'm just babysitting Hope over there." She pointed to the baby girl whom was lying on Jack's bed. "It's his adopted baby and apparently, he doesn't have a mother, so I volunteered to babysit for him while he went out to ask people about how to take care of babies."

Lumina pursed her lips. "But... that's not right..." Celia looked at her confusedly.

"What's not right, Lumina?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just... talking to myself."

Celia shrugged. "Oh. Okay then." Hope started to cry and Celia muttered an 'excuse me' before scurrying off to comfort Hope.

Lumina put her head in her palms and watched Celia tend to Hope. Lumina thought about what Celia just told her, and came to the conclusion that it wasn't right. The baby, or rather, **Hope**, has to have a mother. If she didn't, then why was that floating woman here the other day? Lumina slowly shook her head. She didn't want to think about things like this. Things have been starting to get **very** complicated lately.

Rock glanced at Lumina and saw the conflicted look on her face. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face and he touched her shoulder. Lumina turned to him and he grinned. "Hey, Lumi. Whatever your problem is... don't let it get you down. You should see your expression right now. You're frowning and all that." His smile got even bigger and he pointed to his face. "See? You should do what I'm doing. You should **smile**."

Lumina conflicted look was replaced with a small smile. She soon began to laugh. "Rock! You may get on my nerves, but you sure do know how to cheer me up!" She laughed again. "Alright, I'll smile. I won't grin like a fool, though. That's your job."

He nodded. "Of course, Lumi. Cause y'know I love ya, right?"

She rolled her eyes, but this time not out of annoyance, but in a playful way. "Yeah, yeah. You love me. That's what you always say."

He smiled, but inside, he was kind of hurt that Lumina still didn't believe him. "Hey, Lumi!" He whined. "I'm serious! I love you!"

She giggled. "That's enough, Rock."

He sighed. "Alright then..."

Celia finally settled Hope down and looked over to Rock and Lumina. She saw Rock cheering Lumina up and saying that he 'loved her'. Lumina thought it was a joke, but Celia knew. She knew that his feelings were genuine and true. She could just tell by the way he looks at Lumina. She can see love and happiness in his eyes. But when Lumina didn't respond to 'I love you', she could also see a bit of sadness in his eyes. Celia closed her eyes and silently prayed that he would succeed in seriously telling her his feelings one day.

Celia inwardly sighed. She could sense Rock's true feelings, and she could sense that Lumina also had feelings for someone. But Celia hated the fact that no one loved her. Well, no one loved her in a romantic way at least. She knew that Marlin had a crush on her, but the feeling was not mutual. Celia wanted someone to love her, and she... wanted to love them in return. But she doubted that something like that would happen.

So she slowly shook her head and smiled--this wasn't the time to think about depressing things like this. She walked back over to the small table so she could chat with Lumina and Rock, until Jack came back.

* * *

The Witch leisurely sat on her bed reading a book. She had an emotionless expression on her face, and she casually, but slowly flipped through the pages of the book.

"Let's see...." She muttered. "I'm going to ruin **their** relationship, I'm going to make him go "missing", and I'll make this woman--" She was interrupted by a blinding light illuminating her room. The Witch shielded her eyes and groaned.

_'Ugh. It's **her **again.' _She bitterly thought.

The light faded and she opened her eyes to see the Harvest Goddess, standing proudly in front of her. A glare on her face.

"Look, Witch. I'm going to try and compromise with you." The Goddess said.

Witch glared and jumped off her bed, she got a spellbook from off of her desk. She then turned to the Goddess and opened the book, staring at its contents intently.

"W-What are you doing?" The Goddess hastily asked.

"If you don't leave," The Witch said, never taking her eyes off of the book. "then I'll cast a spell on you."

The Goddess slowly backed away, a drop of sweat was falling down her face. "Why are you mad at me?" She asked. "You're the one who endangered the residents with that baby of yours!"

The Witch looked up from the book and gave the Goddess an incredulous look. "Baby? What can that baby do to them?"

"It can do a lot of things, Witch. You have to get rid of it! Take it away from here! Or else--"

The Witch huffed. "Or else what? It'll kill everyone in this Valley?"

The Goddess clenched her hands into fists. "Don't joke around! This is serious! We have to compromise, so--"

The Witch rolled her eyes and looked back down at her spellbook. "I'm tired of talking to you. You tick me off, so.... bye bye."

"Huh?" Was all the Goddess could say before the Witch chanted something that she couldn't understand. Then, all of a sudden, the Goddess's body began to fade. "What are you doing to me? Why am I disappearing?" She yelled.

The Witch closed her book and plopped back down on the bed. She looked up to the Goddess with no emotion. "You are now dead." The Goddess gasped as her whole lower body disappeared. The Witch continued. "You're dead... in **this** world at least." The Witch evilly grinned as she watched the Goddess disappear right before her eyes. She has always waited for this day. The day she defeats the Goddess.

The Goddess screamed as her head, which was the only thing left, started to dissappear. "Y-you can't do this! I... I have to protect the villagers... it's my job!"

Witch waved dismissively. "Well, not anymore it isn't. Sooo......BYE!" Right when she said that, the Goddess screamed as she completely dissappeared.

The Goddess's final word rang in the Witch's ears.

_"Why?"_

The Witch shook her head. This was no time to feel guilty--it was time for revenge. She looked around her home. It was in shambles from when the Goddess messed everything up, but now... she was gone. For how long, she didn't know. She just knew that it would be a long time before anyone saw her again.

"Phase 1... complete." She smiled as she continued to read her book.

* * *

Jack came out of Chris's house holding packs of diapers, paccifiers, rattles, children's books, bottles, blankets, clothes, and a small cushion. He also had many 'how to take care of babies' tutorial books.

He sighed at all the items in his possession. Did a baby really need all of this? "Guess I have to go back home. I hope Celia wasn't too troubled by Hope."

Jack remembered when he told Chris, Samantha, and Ruby about his baby. Chris was estatic at the news, Samantha was shocked, and Ruby was happy. Chris also asked him if she could make a newspaper with that as the headline. Obviously, he declined. Chris, Samantha, and Ruby gave him plenty of items to help take care of a baby, since they were mothers themselves after all. Jack smiled at the fact that the people of the Valley were this nice. He didn't talk to them much, so it's nice to know that they treat you politely.

A cold breeze rushed by and caused Jack to shiver. He looked up and saw that the trees were bare--that meant that Winter was almost here. Well, it **was **Fall 29, so that meant Winter would be here in 2 days. He had to prepare for the chilly season.

He quickly ran to his farm and arrived at his front door. He slowly opened the door to see Celia sleeping on his bed with Hope cuddled up in her arms. Three cups where sitting on his table and he saw a note. He put his things down and slowly walked over to pick it up.

--

_Dear farmer g-- I mean, Jack,_

_Lumi and I came to visit, but you weren't here. So the pretty la-- I mean, Celia took care of us and gave us tea. That stuff's not as bad as I thought._

_We also saw your cute baby. You know, Celia gets along with that kid pretty well. She would make a great mothe-- OW! Never mind what I just said... but anyway, hopefully well see each other next time and talk like men. I was tired of the girl talk Celia and Lumi were doing-- OW! Will you stop punching me, Lumi?_

_So see ya! Oh, yeah... Lumi says 'hi'._

_Sincerely, Rock_

--

Jack smiled at the letter and put it in his drawer. Rock seemed like a fun guy, maybe he would talk to him sometime. He didn't know that Lumina was friends with him.

He looked over to Celia sleeping on the bed and smiled. She was really nice. She didn't have to take care of Hope, but she did anyway. And to top it off, she got along with her perfectly. Maybe Rock was right, she would make a great mother.

Celia stirred and opened her eyes. She then slowly sat up in the bed and looked around the house. "Where am I..?" She sleepily asked. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to Jack, realization slowly dawning on her face. She got up from the bed and bowed. "I'm sorry for sleeping on your bed! It was just that you were gone too long, and Rock and Lumina left so I got lonely... and sleepy, so please forgive me!"

Jack smiled. "It's okay. I understand. I was gone for about 2 hours. Thank you for helping me, Celia."

She giggled. "No problem! But... I have to get home now. Vesta will probably wonder where I've been." Jack suddenly felt guilty that he made her stay here without even contacting her guardian. They were probably worried sick about her.

"Oh... well, I'm sorry for keeping you." Jack said.

She shook her head. "It's fine." She put on her coat and opened the front door. "Well... I'll see you another time. Goodbye." She closed the door and walked out into the cold night air. The moon shone brilliantly in the sky and she looked up to it. Smiling as she thought,

_'Jack and I will definitely be friends.'_

Meanwhile, Jack was sitting in his house, thinking the same thing.

* * *

He stood on a hill and looked over the whole Valley, smirking as he did so.

The moonlight made his pale skin glow, and the wind tousled his shining, silver hair.

"Looks like I'm here. The fabled 'Forget-Me-Not Valley'.

* * *

**So, how did you guys like it? I made it longer because... I just got into writing it, y'know?**

**Oooh... who's the mystery guy at the end? I know, but you don't. Or do you? It should be obvious.**

**Well, until next time!**


	8. The Arrival of The Phantom

**So, did you guys find out who the mystery person of last chapter was...? Some of you said Skye, but it could've been _Vaughn _for all you know! So there! ........I'm just kidding. It was Skye, hehe. So, let's go and see how he will spice up the plot. xD**

* * *

**_What? A Baby?_**

**_Chapter 8: The Arrival of The Phantom_**

**_--_**

It's been two weeks after Jack found Hope on his doorstep. By now, the whole village knew he had a baby. That didn't mean they thought less of him though, they actually gained a better opinion about him, seeing that he has no experience with kids, but tries his best when taking care of Hope. Everyone in Valley had taken quite a liking to Hope-- even the quiet artist Cody, and the strange scientist Daryl.

Since Winter arrived, the stores and businesses in the Valley haven't been getting much business. Take the Blue Bar, for example. People are not too fond of walking in the cold weather, so they rarely go to the Bar at this time of year. There is also another reason why stores haven't been getting much business....

--

Jack hurriedly walked to his house so he could get out of the cold weather. He just dropped Hope off at Ruby's Inn to spend the night and now he was going home to get some needed rest. He looked up to the cloudy night sky and saw the moon peeking out from behind the gray clouds.

He was kind of worried about Muffy and Griffin, the two people who lived at the Blue Bar. When he visited them today, they told him about a letter they got. It said that someone called the 'Phantom' was going to come and steal something from them tonight. They had asked Jack if he wanted to stay and watch guard with them later on, but he politely denied. For one, Jack was confused as to why the thief would send a letter telling people what he was going to do.

_'What's the point in doing that? If anyone read that letter, then of course they would be watching out for you. This thief must be pretty confident in his abilities. That... or he's an idiot.'_

As he walked up the path to his farm, he heard a cracking sound. He looked up to the source of the noise, which was a tree. A branch on the tree was cracked. It was as if someone was.... sitting on it, but he couldn't tell for sure because it was nighttime and it was very hard to see anything.

Jack shook his head and sighed. _'What am I thinking? Who would be climbing trees in the Winter? Nighttime at that?' _He continued towards his farm, but little did he know that a certain man was watching him from atop of said tree.

* * *

The Witch sat in her house reading a book. She studied the contents of the page. As soon as she had it remembered, she flipped to the next page. It was like a pattern. Read, remember, flip, read, remember, and flip.

After a while, she got tired and closed the book, a grin on her face.

"2nd phase, complete. Hah! It's all going according to plan so far! Now that the 'Phantom' is here, they'll be so occupied with his antics that they will avert their eyes from the _real_ danger that will soon befall them." With a cackle, the Witch walked outside and got onto her broom. She flew out into the night sky with the cold air brushing against her face and the wind tousling her hair.

She looked down to the ground and saw someone walking towards the Blue Bar. Raising her eyebrow, she landed. She hid behind a tree and watched as the person came closer to the door.

The mysterious person opened the door to the Blue Bar and the next thing the Witch heard was a piercing scream. She ran up to the Bar and looked through the window. A woman with blonde, curly hair -- What was her name again? Yeah, Muffy. That was it. -- was threateningly holding a broom up to a man with silver hair. The Witch assumed he was the Phantom, the same man who she saw sneak in -- well, more like casually walked in -- moments ago.

The Witch could faintly hear voices from inside the Bar. She could still hear them good enough to make out what they were saying, though. "Stay away, you... you thief!" Muffy yelled, swinging the broom around as she did so.

The 'Phantom' smirked and slightly backed away. "Oh my, how could such a beautiful face spout out those cruel words?" He mockingly gasped. "A thief? No, no. You've got it all wrong."

Muffy lowered the broom to the ground, but still held on to it. She glared at the man. "Are you serious? ...You're not a thief?" He smirked and she continued. "Well... if you're not, then why did you come to the Bar so late in the night?"

"Ah... there's just something here that I want....." His eyebrows lowered and he gave her a fierce glare that would even scare the Witch Princess herself. Only slightly, though. "And you're not going to stop me!" He continued. "Maiden Chick Beam!"

"Wha..?" Muffy was interrupted by a strange sensation in her body. When she saw the man going over to Griffin's abundance of rare wine bottles, she immediately tried to grab for her broom -- which she dropped -- but found out that she couldn't move. At all.

"What have you done to me?" She yelled. The man found what he was looking for and put it in his black rucksack.

"Huh? I just... used my spell on you." He winked and walked towards the door. Right before leaving out of the bar, he turned to Muffy and smirked. "Oh, and by the way. My name's Skye. Be sure to remember it~" He walked out of the door leaving Muffy literally frozen in the middle of the room.

Meanwhile, the Witch backed away from the window and grinned. That thief wasn't as bad as she thought. There was something strange about him, though. He was clearly a human, so why could he use that magic spell?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a smooth, but cold voice. "Ah, what is someone as beautiful as you doing outside at a time like this?" She turned to be met with a pair of green eyes and a mop of shining, silver hair. "You need to get your beauty sleep.... but I suppose you don't need it. You're already so captivating." He slyly smiled at her, and she blanched. She _so_ did not get along well with flirty type people.

"Uh huh. And I suppose you plan to compliment me more and then use that spell of yours on me because you think I might try to take whatever you just stole away from you." She said.

He scowled and muttered something inaudible and then looked to her with a smile. "Ah, you got me, huh? Well, since you know what I'm going to do, then I suggest you not mess with my things."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Yeah, like I would do that. I'm the one who called you to this Valley anyway." After realizing what she had said, she covered her mouth to prevent from saying anything else. Why did she always have to open her big mouth?

His eyes widened slighty and he smirked. "Oh? So you're the one who sent me the letter about this Valley." He put his hand under his chin thoughtfully and glanced up at the dark night sky. "But why would you hire a thief to steal things from your neighbors? Hmmm?"

She pushed a strand of hair out of her face and smirked. "I'm.... not really fond of this place. Or the people for that matter."

Skye took his gaze off of the sky and was about to ask something else, only to see that the woman was gone.

"Hmph. Such a strange girl." He muttered. With that, he walked away to go home for the night. He got what he came for. Well, for now, anyway.

Meanwhile, the Witch was on her broom, flying home. _'Good. I got away. If I stayed any longer, I might have told him my whole plan. I was never good with keeping secrets.' _She sighed. "This plan better work.... the stress it causes just might be the death of me..." With a small chuckle, she continued on her way home, soaring through the cool Winter sky.

* * *

The next day, Jack woke up at about 6:00. Thinking that it was far too early to pick up Hope from Ruby's, he decided to start his farm work. But since it was Winter, there wouldn't be much to do, since he couldn't grow crops and all.

He put on his usual outfit, the blue overalls with a white shirt and a red bandana tied around his neck. After putting on his cap, he slipped on his coat and walked out into the cool Winter air. He quickly walked towards the barn, making footprints in the snow.

As soon as he got to the entrance of the barn, he opened the door and walked inside. Jack looked over to his animals, which unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of. There were only two cows, a sheep, and a horse.

He took his brush out of his rucksack and started to brush one of his cows. As the cow mooed happily, Jack was deep in thought.

_'I wonder where the Goddess is. I haven't seen her for about two weeks, did something happen to her?' _Jack's thoughts were interrupted by angry and impatient grunts coming from the other animals. With a sigh, Jack said, "Okay, okay. I'll get to you guys in a minute." He walked over to his other animals and started to brush them.

Later that day, Jack decided to stop by the Inn and pick up Hope so he could take her back to the farm. On his way there, Muffy slowly walked past him, a look of depression on her face. She was so sad that she hadn't even notice that Jack was there.

A little worried, Jack called out her name. "Muffy...?"

She turned to Jack and sighed. "Oh. Hi, Jack." Her voice was low and didn't have the cheerfulness and pep that it usually had. Jack raised his eyebrow at her change from her usual behavior.

"What's wrong, Muffy? You weren't acting like this yesterday--" He stopped talking as soon as he realized the reason for Muffy's depression. _'Could it be that the thief came after all?' _

Ignoring the fact that Jack stopped in mid-sentence, Muffy began to talk. "Ugh. You know that letter Griffin and I told you about yesterday?" Jack nodded as she continued. "Well, last night, the thief came and stole one of Griffin's rare wines." Jack nodded again, expecting her to continue, but instead, she stopped talking altogether.

"Uh... Muffy?" He asked. "I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything, but.... does this wine have any important value?" She rasied her eyebrow and he continued. "So yeah, the thief stole it, it's not like you guys are gonna go broke without it, right?"

Muffy shook her head, causing her blonde curls to swing around. "The truth is, I don't even know. When Griffin found out, he got really... um... frustrated? If you could even call it that. He didn't tell me the reason why he was so distraught, so I could only assume that the wine was _really _important."

At that moment, Jack couldn't help but feel guilty. Muffy and Griffin asked him if he could help watch out for the thief, but he declined and left them to fend for themselves. If it wasn't for him, then this probably wouldn't have happened. If only he said 'yes'. A simple three letter word. Why didn't he say it?

"It's my fault..." Jack mumbled, looking to the ground. Muffy looked taken aback, but it suddenly dissolved into a smile. She then put her hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner. Jack looked up at her smiling face.

"Don't worry. You didn't do anything, you were tired, that's why you couldn't help us. You _do _have a baby and all, so I understand." She took her hand off of his shoulder and crossed her arms, a smirk on her face. "So don't think it's your fault, alright?"

Jack couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for that, Muffy. But... I still feel bad, though. I should be the one trying to cheer _you_ up." He laughed. "Not the other way around!"

"Oh, it's okay. I know we'll find a solution to this problem sooner or later." She looked up to the cloudy, gray sky. "You know.... I should be getting back to the bar. It looks like it might snow...." Muffy trailed off.

Following her gaze, Jack looked up to the sky as well. Seeing the clouds, he sighed. He did_ not_ want it to snow -- he had to pick up Hope from the Inn soon. Straightening up his coat, he looked at Muffy and gave her an understanding smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you around Muffy. I hope this all works out." Without another word, Jack walked off towards the Inn as Muffy watched after him.

"What a kind man...." She whispered. At that moment, Muffy smiled. She didn't feel as sad as she did a while ago. Even though the situation was still distressing, Muffy felt a little better about it. "Heh, it'll be fun.... getting to know him." She turned on her heel and walked towards the Blue Bar, her shoes crunching in the snow.

* * *

Celia walked across the bridge and towards the mansion to visit Lumina. Ever since that day a few weeks back, her and Lumina have been good friends. She even talked to Rock from time-to-time, too.

As she walked along the path, she hummed a tune to herself and cheerfully smiled, not a worry in the world. But at that moment, she bumped into something.

Hard.

The force of the collision caused her to fall back on her behind. She looked up to see a man grinning at her. Knowing who it was, Celia sighed. "What are you doing here Rock?" He sheepishly grinned and held out his hand to help her up.

"Ah... I was just going to visit Lumi. And... I guess I bumped into you on the way." He scratched his head and Celia looked at him.

"You too, huh? Well, I was on my way to the mansion too, so we can go together." Celia smiled and Rock pumped a fist into the air.

"Yeah! Cool! You know I love hanging out with you, Celia." Seeing the strange stare Celia gave him, he corrected himself. "Uh.... but not as much as Lumi, though." With a nod, Celia started to walk away with Rock close behind. She didn't expect to make friends with him -- heck, no one did -- but still, he seemed like a guy who would be a good friend. Cheerful, outgoing, and just plain fun-loving. He would be perfect to cheer you up when you're down.

_'Ugh. Listen to me.' _Celia thought. _'It sounds like I'm trying to sell him off to someone.'_

Even though they knew each other for such a short time, Celia thought of Lumina as her best friend. Ever since they met two weeks ago, they've been inseperable. Either Celia would visit Lumina, or Lumina would visit Celia. They would always confide in each other if they had problems, or just idly chat. Another person Celia considered as a friend was Jack. Since the day they met, she's always liked him -- not romantically, of course.

Rock snapped her out of her thoughts by calling her name. "Celia! We're here!" He yelled, slightly shaking her shoulder. She blinked and saw that they were in fact, in front of the large manor.

As she and Rock walked inside, neither of them noticed a certain Witch, sneering at them from the door of her house.

* * *

**Meh, this wasn't one my best chapters. And it's totally filler, no real plot at all. Except for the appearance of Skye that is. But don't worry, next chapter will be terribly..... dramatic. That's all I'm gonna say.**

**Well, till next time, readers. **


	9. Life Changing Experiences

**Hey, how are you? I'm so sorry I haven't updated this story in like, a year. So, so sorry. :( ****I just lost inspiration. I managed to write something, at least. xD I suggest you read up on the earlier chapters of this story if you don't remember what has been happening. **

**Hopefully, I'll be able to update this story a little more often from now on. And again, I feel terrible for not updating it in so long. Hope you don't hate me for it. ;~;**

_**

* * *

**__**What? A Baby?**_

_**Chapter 9: Life Changing Experiences**_

--

As Celia and Rock arrived inside of the mansion, they were greeted by a cheerful Lumina walking over to them.

"Celia! You made it!" She said as she clapped her hands together happily.

Celia nodded. "Yeah… Rock came along too. I hope you don't mind." In reaction, Rock waved cheekily and Lumina rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I don't mind." Seeing the grin on Rock's face, she added, "Much."

Celia giggled as Rock pouted and Lumina smirked. She noticed that Lumina and Rock acted so… natural around each other. Celia may not have known them long, but she could tell that they were good friends, even though Lumina acted otherwise at times.

So, with a smile, Celia pushed Lumina and Rock towards the kitchen. "Come on, you two! Stop flirting with each other and let's go have lunch."

In reaction to Celia's statement, Lumina gaped and Rock gave her a bewildered look.

"I-I was not flirting with _him_! I'd rather _die_ before I do that!" Lumina yelled, her face a bright shade of red. Celia didn't know if it was from anger or embarrassment. Either way, it was _very _red, and it didn't look too healthy.

"Celia…" Rock trailed off. Hearing her name, Celia turned to him.

"Yeah? What is it?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Let's just get some food! I'm starving!"

So with that, they walked into the kitchen to have lunch.

Sebastian was at the stove preparing Ultimate Curry. Lumina smiled and told her two friends that she would go and help Sebastian in the kitchen, so Rock and Celia sat down at the dining table as they waited for their lunch.

"Celia…" Rock said in a low whisper.

Celia, not knowing that Rock wanted to be secretive, replied in a loud voice, "Yeah, what?"

He put his finger to his mouth and shushed her. "Not so loud! I need to talk to you about something." She nodded, allowing him to go on. "Well, about earlier…"

"Yes, what about earlier?" She asked. Rock shushed her again and she realized that she was quite loud. "Oh! Sorry…." She quietly said.

"So yeah…" Rock began. "About earlier… when you said the whole 'flirting' thing… were you jealous?" Celia stared at him confusedly and Rock continued, not noticing the girl's expression. "Hey, I know I'm an irresistible guy, but really Celia. I'm sorry, but my heart belongs to Lumina and Lumina only."

Celia shook her head furiously, her hair swinging wildly. "No! I was just joking around when I said that, Rock! There's no way I would be jealous!" She yelled.

Rock crossed his arms and grinned, his voice still in a small whisper, unlike Celia's. "I guess I'll take your word for it…. so, is there anyone you _are _interested in?"

Celia sighed and calmed down, bringing her voice back down to a whisper. "Not at the moment… no. Why do you ask?"

"Well… because I'm a love master, and if I knew about any guys you were interested in, I would hook you up with him." Rock snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

Celia shook her head slowly, a small smile on her face. "You're such a handful, you know that?"

He nodded. "I know, I know. That's what makes me so loveable."

Meanwhile, Lumina looked over to the dining table and saw Celia and Rock whispering to each other. She wondered why they were being so secretive about whatever they were talking about. Was it something they didn't want her to know? Well, whatever the case, it wasn't any of her business – she shouldn't pry into other peoples' affairs. That was the way she was raised, after all.

So, with a shrug, Lumina continued to cook the lunch alongside Sebastian.

Once they were done, Lumina and Sebastian set the food out on the table and Lumina looked around the kitchen.

"Where's Auntie Romana?" She asked.

"Oh. Miss Romana should be in her room taking a nap. She told me to wake her up when I was done preparing the meal. Speaking of that, I should go and get her…" Sebastian explained.

Lumina smiled. "Oh, well if that's the case, then I'll go get her. You don't have to do everything around here Sebastian. He me help one in a while." With a reluctant nod from Sebastian, Lumina walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to Romana's room. Once she arrived at the door, she slowly opened it and called out.

"Auntie Romana? Lunch is ready." Not hearing a response, Lumina walked deeper into the room and looked around, not seeing anyone. She pulled the covers slightly off of the bed and saw that Romana wasn't there.

"Hm. Maybe Auntie's in my room. She did like to look around in there often." Lumina said to herself.

So, Lumina walked out of Romana's room and closed the door gently. As she walked up the stairs, Lumina started to get more and more worried with each passing step.

'_Oh, why am I worried? If Auntie's not in my room, then she has to be in mine. And if she's not in there… then maybe she went down to the kitchen already. But… what if something has happened to her…?'_

Lumina quietly gasped and shook her head. Nothing would happen to Romana. She was probably in some other room in the house, is all. There was need for her to be overly worried. Nothing happened.

Or at least, she hope nothing did.

After making it to the top of the stairs, Lumina shivered. "Why is it so cold up here?" She asked herself. Looking around, she saw that the window to the balcony was open.

"Ugh. Who left the window open?" With a sigh, she walked over to the window and looked out of it.

"Heh, the plan's coming together." She heard a voice say from somewhere nearby. Lumina looked down to the source of the voice and saw a woman standing by the fountain. She had black clothes and sandy blonde hair.

'_Who's that girl? I've never seen her before… she looks suspicious.' _Lumina confusedly thought.

Said girl crossed her arms and looked to the ground. "Now I need to talk to him." She bent down and poked something in the snow. "See ya, sorry it had to end like this…… Not." With a chuckle, she sat on a broom and all of a sudden, flew into the sky.

Lumina stared after the woman with her eyes widened and mouth slightly opened. "Whoa… who… was that?" She asked no one in particular.

Shaking her head, she looked back down to the ground and saw something half buried in the snow. "What's that? The woman was talking to it." Curious, Lumina put on her coat and walked back downstairs. As she walked past the kitchen, she remembered Romana.

'_Ah, she's probably in the kitchen already, so I don't need to worry. ' _She thought.

Lumina opened the front doors and walked out into the cool Winter air. She slowly walked over to the half buried object and once she got closer, her eyes widened.

What she realized was that it wasn't a half buried 'object' she was looking at, but a human. And this particular human was….

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lumina let out a bloodcurdling scream, one that was filled with pain, sorrow, and fear.

* * *

Jack walked down the snowy path towards his farm as he carried the basket Hope was sleeping in.

There were so many things happening lately. The thief, Muffy and Griffin's dilemma, and the sudden disappearance of the Goddess.

Jack hadn't seen the Goddess in weeks, and he knew that she wouldn't leave him to take care of the baby alone, so what happened to her? Sighing, Jack continued on his way and was suddenly startled by a cool,

"Hello."

Looking to the direction of the voice, Jack turned to see the Witch Princess behind him, sitting on her broom. A coy smirk was on her face and she coolly waved at him. "I haven't seen you in a while… Jack, right? That's your name?" She asked.

"Uh… yeah. I don't know who told you, but that's besides the point. What are you doing here? Are you going to threaten me again?" He asked cautiously, holding Hope closer to him.

She crossed her arms and nonchalantly glanced at him. "No… I just came to tell you that from this day forward, everything is going be a like… a nightmare, or a living hell – whatever you want to call it." She smirked.

"For such a grim statement, you seem to be happy about it." She nodded and he continued. "Just what do you mean by that anyway?"

She picked at her nails carelessly. "Well… let's just say that recent incidents are going lead to other things in the future. And well, everything's gonna become a living hell for you and the villagers."

"But…" Jack started. "I still don't get it—"

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Someone screamed.

Jack jumped and looked around to find the source of the sudden noise. On an impulse, he put Hope in the Witch's arms. "Watch her while I check this out, okay?" He told her as he ran off. "And don't do anything to her! If you do, you'll regret it!"

"Yeah, yeah." The Witch mumbled as she looked down at the baby in her arms. "So… we meet again, huh? …My little trump card." She said as she smirked at the sleeping Hope.

Meanwhile, Jack ran up the path to Lumina's mansion. Because if he heard correctly, the scream came from there. As he arrived, he was met with a sight that he'd rather not see.

Lumina was kneeling on the ground sobbing into her hands as Rock patted her shoulder. Celia and Sebastian were standing a distance away looking at something on the ground, something that Jack couldn't see because Sebastian and Celia blocked his view. Feeling worry and concern well up uncomfortably in his chest, he briskly walked past Lumina and Rock and towards Celia and Sebastian.

"What happened here….?" He asked.

Celia looked up at him, her face full of sadness. "J-jack… it's…." Deciding not to say anything else, Celia miserably pointed to the ground.

Jack looked down and saw a woman, half buried in the snow. What really shocked him though, was that the woman was Romana.

"W-what… what…." Jack muttered. He couldn't find anything to say at a time like this, so he closed his mouth and refused to say anything else.

"Auntie… A-auntie…" Lumina sobbed. "W-why? Why did it have to be… y-you?" Rock silently pat her shoulder and frowned for – possibly – the first time in his life.

"Don't worry, Lumi… I'm sure she'll be alright." He said.

She looked up to him, her eyes filled with dread, her expression pleading. "B-but what if she _doesn't_? What would I…" She trailed off as she looked down to the ground. "W-what would I do then…?"

Rock was at a loss of words. He had no idea what to say to her in this kind of situation – he had no way of replying, so he just chose to stay by her, silently praying to the Goddess that Romana would be all right.

Jack looked at Lumina and saw how… miserable she was. Every time he saw her she would always be happy and kind. But now… she was just… different.

All of a sudden, the Witch's words rang through Jack's mind.

_From this day forward, everything is going to be like… a nightmare, or a living hell – whatever you want to call it._

"Is this what she meant…?" He muttered, anger suddenly welling up inside him. He remembered the smirk she had on her face when she had said that, that amusement in her voice. If the Witch was responsible for this, then he would never forgive her.

Celia turned to him, wiping tears from her eyes. "Jack? Did you say something?"

He shook his head and turned away from her, realizing that he left _his_ baby with that… _murderer_. "I… have to go." Jack ran off before Celia could get a word out. Wondering where he went off to, Celia started after him.

"Celia, what's wrong?" Rock asked from his spot next to Lumina.

She turned to him and shook her head. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'll be back soon! I'm going to get some help. Just... take care of Lumina for me, okay?" With that, she ran off leaving Rock very confused.

* * *

The Witch sat on the roof of the Blue Bar, holding Hope in her arms. Sure, she may have been causing a scene by sitting on a _roof_, but it didn't matter to her. If someone did see her, she could just fly away on her broom. But then again, what would she do with the baby?

"Heh… You know… that Goddess said I put everyone in danger by summoning you here." She said to Hope, whom was still sleeping. "I didn't know what she meant by that at first. I just thought you were some alien baby. But… just recently I read up on your species and… you are _definitely_ dangerous." She chuckled. "That's why I need you, little one. You will help me with my plan…"

"Hey!" She heard someone yell.

'_Ugh. Don't tell me one of those villagers saw me.'_ Looking down, she saw Jack panting and his face was filled with… anger? Sadness? She couldn't really tell. "What is it? Want your baby back?" She asked.

"Well, yeah! And you know the other thing that I want!" He yelled up to her.

Smirking, she played dumb. "What could that be?"

"An explanation."

She jumped down from the roof just as she heard another voice.

"Jack! Wait up!"

Both Jack and Witch turned to see Celia running up to them. When she stopped running, she put her hands on her knees and start panting, completely ignoring the fact that the Witch was there.

"C-celia!" Jack said, walking over to her. "What are you doing here?"

She caught her breath and looked up to him. "I was worried, so I followed you…"

Jack sighed. "Well, thanks for worrying and all – it means a lot to me, but… you don't really need to be here…"

"Why is that?" She asked.

"Cause of me, I guess." The Witch said nonchalantly.

Celia jumped at the sound of her voice and slowly turned to the Witch. "W-who are you?" She cautiously asked.

The Witch shrugged and handed Hope over to Jack. "Eh, that's for me to know and you to find out." She picked up her broom and sat on it. "Ciao, kiddies! Oh, and Jack?"

"What?" He asked, his gentle tone now turning into a dark one.

"I plan to see that baby of yours again." She said, pointing to Hope. "I've taken a…._ liking_ to her… well, see ya." She flew off into the sky until she disappeared into the clouds.

"J-jack? What… is she?" Celia asked.

Jack sighed. Now he would have to explain things, even though he didn't truly understand it himself. "Uh… maybe I should tell you later." He saw Celia's disappointed expression and continued. "We need to check on Lumina, right? I'm pretty sure Rock can't handle her by himself."

She nodded grimly, suddenly remembering Romana's situation. "Y-yeah… she needs us. We should go."

Jack gave her a melancholy smile. "Yeah… you go on ahead. I have to drop Hope off at the Inn – I can't keep her in this cold weather. I'll catch up to you, alright?"

She nodded. "Okay, but hurry please!"

He nodded and headed off toward the Inn with Celia walking off in the opposite direction.

"I never expected to become such good friends with these people…" Celia muttered. "Lumina, Jack… and Rock, too. They're my friends. We have to stay close. We have to help Lumina through this." A small, but sad smile appeared on her face as she continued to walk. "I really hope Romana is alright. Please Goddess, save her."

Little did Celia know, that the Goddess was no where to be found. She wasn't in the village anymore – it's unknown if she was still on the Earth. Without a divine god -- or goddess in this case -- how would things turn out?

* * *

Lumina stood up from the ground and looked around. Everyone in the Valley were already crowding around her house. Adult and children alike – even a few people from Mineral Town were there.

A bespectacled girl with long black hair in a braid emerged from the crowd, her face full of concern. Once she caught sight of Lumina, she hurried over.

"Lumina!" The girl yelled. "Are you alright?"

Lumina suddenly recognized the girl as Mary, her best friend from Mineral Town. "M-mary? What are you doing here..?"

She couldn't reply because of the sudden mob of people hurrying over to them. They shouted things like 'what happened' or 'are you alright'. Rock saw this and grabbed both Mary and Lumina's hands. He looked over his shoulder and yelled to the crowd. "Just lay off, alright?" They shut up and he continued. "Lumina needs some time to herself, so stop disturbing her!" With that, he dragged Lumina and Mary into the mansion and closed the doors behind him. Once they were inside, he leaned against the wall. "Now talk, you two. Say whatever you have to say."

Mary nodded and turned to Lumina. "I came because the doctor told us that something happened to your grandmother and that he was on his way to the Valley to check it out. I was worried about you, so I decided to come." She looked out the window and saw people crowded around Sebastian, they were asking him questions, no doubt. "And so did everyone else in Mineral Town, too…"

Lumina sat down in front of the piano and sighed. "Thanks, Mary. But… I'm alright."

"Really?" Mary asked, unsure. When she saw Lumina nod, she looked out of the window and saw Dr. Hardy and Trent carrying Romana on a stretcher while Elli scurried along behind them. Mary then looked at Lumina's pain stricken face and felt the need to cry. Mary always felt what her friends felt. If they were happy, she was happy; if they were sad, she was sad.

Rock continued to stare at them while he leaned against the wall.

'_Today was supposed to be a worry free day… we were just going to hang out and have lunch… but now… this happened…' _He grimly thought.

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging on the doors. Rock sighed and walked over to the door. "Must be Sebastian… I'll get it." He told Lumina and Mary. Once he opened the door, Celia, Jack, and Sebastian rushed inside. Rock closed the doors before the mob could get in. "They tried to get you guys, too?" Rock knowingly asked.

As they all nodded, he shook his head.

Celia then noticed Lumina and suddenly rushed over to her. "Oh, Lumina! I'm… so sorry, but Romana will be alright… I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure, Celia?" She asked.

"I prayed to the Goddess. I'm sure she'll save her."

At the mention of the Goddess, both Jack and Mary's expressions soured. Rock raised an eyebrow as he noticed this and walked over to Jack.

"Hey." Rock whispered. "Why do you look like that?"

"Well…" Jack was hesitant to reply. He couldn't just tell them that the Goddess hasn't been seen for weeks. That would certainly bring everyone's hopes down. The Goddess could be currently busy with something for all he knew. So, telling them that would just bring trouble. "It's nothing… I just don't feel good is all." Jack lied.

Rock nodded. "Oh, well you should rest if you don't feel too good. I guess this situation is taking it's toll on you too, huh…"

Jack slowly nodded and sat down on a nearby chair. He looked out of the window as he watched snowflakes fall out of the sky.

He was pretty sure that everyone in this room agreed on one thing.

That this was a day that no one would forget anytime soon.

* * *

The Witch looked down on the Valley from way up high in the clouds.

"I can't go back home yet…" She said. "There are too many people around the mansion and they might see me." A small smile appeared on her face. "I got the old lady out of the way… all I need is the baby now. After I get her, then my plan will be literally unstoppable."

She grinned as she sat above the clouds. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

**So... yeah. There's the new chapter. To be honest with you, I'm not too satisfied with this chapter (Am I even satisfied with any chapter I write lately? xD). I haven't been writing this story in a while, so I'm kind of out of it.**

**Well, hope you liked it anyway.**


	10. Loss

**New chapter! Enjoy! Hope you all like it! And sorry for not updating in a long time. Real life gets in the way of fanfic writing. A lot.**

* * *

**_What? A Baby?_**

**_Chapter 10: Loss _**

Lumina hugged herself as the snow continued to fall. It had only been a week since her grandmother's death and she still felt miserable. Romana was the only family she had left - the only person left who truly cared for her.

Her vision began to blur as tears rolled down her face. She told herself she wouldn't cry anymore, that she would be strong for her grandmother... she tried...

But she just couldn't do it.

She knew that her grandmother would die someday - she _knew _that. But it didn't make her death any less painful and she never expected her to get _murdered_. Lumina always thought that if Romana died, she would have died from natural causes surrounded by loved ones as she passed on to the great unknown...

But instead she died a painful death. Alone. With no one to help her.

And _that_ is what caused Lumina the most grief.

Lumina touched the cold gravestone as she fell to her knees on the ground, holding it for support.

She didn't care if she was in the snow, she didn't care if she got wet, and she didn't care if she got sick, either. Anything was better than having to live with the fact that her only family left in the world was now gone.

She had... nothing to live for anymore.

Well... she had one reason to live.

Revenge.

Before she left this world, she had to at least exact her vengeance on the mysterious woman that she found next to her grandmother's body on that fateful day.

That blonde woman with the red eyes... the one who flew away on a broom as if she was some sort of witch.

Lumina may not have any concrete evidence to the woman's involvement, but the fact that she was _there_ was proof enough for her. If anyone else were in her situation, she's sure they would think the same.

How can an unfamiliar woman with the ability to fly_ not_ be suspicious?

Lumina wiped her eyes and stood up from the ground. There was no reason for her to be moping now, she had to be strong for her grandmother... she had to take revenge on the person killed her. In a way, the mysterious witch killed both of them.

Her grandmother lost her life, and she lost... everything.

As she wiped another tear from her eye, she looked down to the gravestone. Lumina soon regretted doing that because she could another wave of emotions come over her.

"Don't worry, Auntie..." She whispered. "I'll... I'll make things right. I'll make sure the person who did this is brought to justice, I swear. Only then... will we both be able to rest in peace."

Yes, Lumina would get her revenge. And after that...

She had no idea what she was going to do.

* * *

Jack sighed as he laid his head on the table. Things were going so bad in the Valley lately... the disappearance of the Goddess, Muffy and Griffin's problem at the bar, the sudden appearance of this 'Phantom Thief', and...

Romana's death.

He knew the Witch was a bad person, but he didn't think she was evil enough to murder somebody!

And it really depressed him, too, because Romana was a kind lady who didn't deserve to die like that.

He knew the Witch told him that bad things were going to happen, but why? Why was she doing this? What reason did she have?

He shook his head. He couldn't think of anything. All he knew was that it had _something_ to do with the Goddess' disappearance.

He groaned as he buried his head into his arms further. Everything was so confusing right now.

"Jack? You alright over there?" A voice asked, breaking him away from his thoughts.

Jack looked up to see Rock and Celia giving him concerned looks. Celia was holding Hope while Rock was sitting on his bed, narrowing his eyes at him. "Let me say it again, are you alright?" The younger man asked him.

Jack gave them a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just... thinking about things."

"Oh..." Rock's face suddenly turned into a frown. "You mean... Romana's incident?"

Jack nodded. "Uh... yeah. I wonder how Lumina is?"

"Yes, she hasn't talked to anyone in a week..." Celia said, jumping into the conversation. "She must be devastated..."

At the mention of Lumina, Rock's expression soured. "Yeah... Lumi's up there all alone with no one to talk to. She must feel all alone because Romana was the only family she had left..." At this, Jack's eyes widened and Celia gasped.

"Really?" Celia said, hand covering her mouth. "That's... that's terrible."

"Yeah." Rock continued as he stood up from the bed. "That's why... I... need to be there for her. I knew her for so long, so I understand her feelings the best. I need to go talk to her." As Rock started to walk away, Celia grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Wait, Rock. Let's all go to see Lumina." She gave him a kind smile. "I may not have known you two for very long, but we're friends now and-"

"Friends need to be there for each other." Jack cut in, walking up to Rock. "We're all friends now, and we all need to be there for Lumina. She may think she's alone, but she's not. Why?"

Rock chuckled as his mouth formed into a small smile. "Because she has us, of course."

Jack gave Rock a reassuring, but friendly pat on the back. "That's right. Now let's go see her, alright?"

Rock nodded. "Yeah. Thanks guys."

Celia giggled with one hand covering her mouth. "No problem."

As Celia picked up Hope and helped Rock put her in the baby carriage (Ruby gave it to him the other day), he smiled. Celia was right. They may not have known each other long, but... they were still friends, and Jack knew that they would all be there for each other whenever any of them was in need of a helping hand. That gave him all the more reason to protect from the Witch Princess.

If he lost anyone of them - any more of the villagers - he would never forgive himself.

And he had to protect Hope. She was basically his only family - he wouldn't anything happen to her.

Yes, he was going to find a way to stop whatever the Witch was planning... if the Goddess wasn't here, then Jack was going to take her place as the protector of the Valley.

Sure, it was a big goal (who could possibly follow in a Goddess's footsteps?), but he was going to try. These were good people and as long as he knew the Witch was planning something, he wasn't going to let anything else happen to them.

At least, he hoped he would be able to prevent anything else from happening...

"Jack?" Celia called as she settled Hope into the baby carriage. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to her with a smile. "Oh! Yeah, everything's fine..."

She sighed and shrugged. "Well, if you say so... you've been acting kinda strange." Celia then smiled at him, but this time it unnerved Jack. It wasn't like one of her usual friendly smiles... it was more of a knowing smile. It was almost as if she _knew_ what he was thinking about...

But that couldn't be, right? She didn't know anything about his dilemma with the Goddess and Witch.

Unless...

"Jack? Celia? It's time to go." Rock called from outside the door. Jack could see that the younger man was already bundled up in his white coat, hands stuffed into his pockets. "We gotta go and cheer up Lumi!"

Celia glanced at Jack one more time before looking to Rock with an apologetic smile. "Oh! Sorry Rock, we're coming."

After checking to see if Hope was bundled up properly, Celia rolled the stroller out of the house with Jack walking not too far behind. He closed the door behind him and locked it, then he proceeded to follow his friends out into the cold wintry air.

As he walked, he sighed to himself, once again recalling the events that took place over the last two weeks.

He hoped that everything would turn out alright.

* * *

The Witch picked at her nails nonchalantly as she sat in a tree, watching over Romana's grave.

"Hmph. I didn't mean for my little prank to go that _far_..." She muttered as she glanced down at the grave. "I just decided to push her out of the window because she was going to reveal my identity... I didn't think she would actually _die_."

She groaned as she recalled the events of that day.

~o~

_The Witch Princess peeked out of the door to her hut to make sure no one was outside. She glanced around the courtyard once and smirked when she saw it was indeed empty._

_"That farmgirl and playboy just went into the mansion, after all, so the old lady and her family is probably preoccupied with entertaining them." The Witch then stepped out of her house and closed the door behind her with a snap of magic. "I doubt anyone would come out while entertaining guests-"_

_"Young woman! Who are you and what are you doing there?" Witch heard a voice call out. When she turned to the source of the voice, she saw the owner of the mansion - Romana - staring at her impatiently from the balcony._

_Damn. She was spotted._

_"Well? Answer me!" She yelled again._

_The Witch held her hands up defensively. "Hey, hey. No need to get all bent out of shape. I'm just a tourist."_

_"A tourist who just walked out of my shed?" The woman scoffed. "I find that hard to believe. Tell me who you really are, child."_

_The Witch groaned. "That's no business of yours, grandma."_

_At this, Romana took on a fierce scowl and started yelling. "It **is** my business since you are on **my** property! Ah - forget this! I'm calling the authorities!" And with that, she started to walk back inside of the mansion._

_The Witch groaned. There was no way she was going to let this woman reveal her identity. Not yet, anyway. "Hold up just a minute." She called to the Romana, snapping her fingers. "You're not going anywhere."_

_At that moment, Romana stopped dead in her tracks. She scowled as she struggled to move and grew more frustrated when she saw that she was frozen in place._

_"W-who are you...?" She asked, clearly shaken. "Why can't I move?"_

_The Witch summoned her broom and sat on it with a sly smile. "Oh... nobody important, really." She then floated up to where Romana was. "Just a little Witch, that's all."_

_"A...A Witch? There's no such thing as-"_

_"As Witches?" At this, she chuckled. "No, there are many scattered all over the land. Some choose to live among the people, and some choose to keep their identities hidden and live in secluded places."_

_Despite her obvious apprehension, Romana kept a stern face. The Witch had to give her some props - she sure was brave. "And what type of Witch are you...?"_

_"The kind that likes to keep their identity hidden."_

_Romana took in a sharp intake of breath. "Then... why did you tell me your identity-"_

_"Because," The Witch looked down to the ground for a moment and then looked back up to Romana with a smirk. "You won't be able to tell my secret."_

_There was the strangest feeling emerging from inside of the Witch. She didn't know what the feeling was... thrill? Excitement? Whatever it was, it made her feel really good._

_The Witch snapped her fingers and Romana's frozen body rose into the air._

_"W-what is this?" The woman called out in fear._

_"Telekinesis." Witch said, smile still plastered on her face. "I've decided that I'm going to drop you off this balcony and break a few of your bones. That way, you'll be too scared to reveal my identity."_

_Romana scowled. "What do you think I am, a coward?" The Witch rose her eyebrows in amusement. Was she really going to keep arguing when her life was in danger?_

_Heh, the old bag had balls._

_"What do you mean?" The Witch asked, amusement lacing her tone._

_"You think breaking a few my bones will stop me?" She then glanced down at the snowy ground below. "I know I'm in a risky situation and it's high near impossible for me to get out of, but... there's something strange about you. As long as you're causing trouble in this Valley, I won't keep you a secret... I don't care if you break all the bones in my body! I **will** find a way to expose you because this old woman is **not** a coward."_

_All of a sudden, the Witch felt a surge of pure anger run through her body. She still kept on trying to resist her?_

_Big mistake._

_"I'm done with you." The Witch snarled. "I don't care what happens, just... **die**!" And with that, the Witch relinquished her telekinesis spell on Romana, causing the woman to fall to the ground in the process. _

_It didn't last very long... one second, she was falling through the air, and the next second she was splayed on the ground. The woman didn't even have enough time to scream._

_She stared down at the Romana's now lifeless body for a short while. It was broken and unmoving. Her limbs were splayed out in an unorthodox fashion, and she could clearly see a broken neck. Usually, something like this would horrify the Witch - she was a mean person, but she wasn't **that** mean._

_...Was that even the truth?_

_Killing the woman had brought her a strange satisfaction. It felt... good, almost titillating. She looked down at the woman with a grin. This feeling felt so foreign, but wonderful all the same._

_Somehow, she was changing, and there was nothing she could do about it._

_~o~_

What had come over her? At that time, she felt so... wrong. Back then, something had came over her and it made her want to kill that woman. And when she did, she had felt so... satisfied. What was that feeling that came over her? Was it...

Bloodlust?

That had to be it. What else could it be?

The Witch did consider herself a mean and sometimes heartless person - she was a Witch after all. But... she never liked killing anyone. She played pranks, she broke up relationships, etc. But killing was low, even for her.

So why did she do that? Why did that strange feeling of bloodlust come over her... first she was just planning on using the baby to play cruel prank on the villagers, but... if that feeling came over her again then... she didn't know what would happen.

She wasn't going to abort her plan, though. She was still going to get back at those villagers, she just had to find a way to control her newfound homicidal urges.

And after that was taken care of... the plan would be able to continue.

With a bitter smile and one last look at Romana's grave, she summoned her broom and flew off into the thick, grey clouds.

* * *

**Next chapter Jack and co. will visit Lumina and the Witch will try to find a way to get rid of her bloodlust! And about Skye? Don't worry, he'll show up again soon.**

**Hope you all liked it.**


End file.
